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Clijsters wins US Open title
Federer meets Agassi in final
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Rahul Dravid confident of clinching Test series
Zimbabwe drop four players for Test series
Raikkonen wins, Narain 11th
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Clijsters wins US Open title
New York, September 11 The fourth-seeded Belgian yesterday shed the label of one of the best WTA Tour players never to win a major title, needing little more than an hour to dispatch her 12th-seeded opponent. Clijsters, a former world number 1 who had fallen short in four previous Grand Slam final appearances, was not going to let it happen again. She refused to be intimidated by Pierce’s deep, heavy strokes, and took full advantage of the French player’s numerous errors, especially off the forehand side. Both of Clijsters’ breaks came with the aid of wayward efforts from Pierce, whose first-set effort was littered with 19 errors. But the Belgian wobbled late in the first set, after breaking Pierce for the second time to lead 4-1, punctuating a loose service game with a double fault to let Pierce pull back to 2-4. Pierce held for 3-4, but Clijsters cleaned up her act to win the next two games, wrapping up the set on her second match point. Pierce, who sparked a controversy with a lengthy injury break during her semifinal victory over Elena Dementieva, had the wrapping on her right thigh reinforced by a trainer after the first set, and briefly left the court. She appeared no more comfortable upon her return, however, as Clijsters raced to a 3-0 lead. “If I look back now, everything that happened, happened for a reason,” she said. “Maybe that is why I am sitting here now, with this trophy next to me.” Clijsters returned to action last February, and signalled her intentions with back-to-back titles in the elite events at Indian Wells, California, and Miami in March and April. She also won on the grass at Eastbourne, before returning to North America and burning up the hardcourts with three titles in four starts prior to the US Open. She said her enforced time away from competition had given her a new appreciation for her family and friends, and made her more determined to make the most of her abilities. “When the doctors say to you it is going to be very tough for you to reach the same level, it is very frustrating,” she said. “You just try to think positive. That is when your family and your friends are so important.” While Clijsters had to make adjustments to her game — changing her backhand grip for instance — she said she also returned to action fitter than she had ever been before. It had proved a key improvement for a player who relied on speed and tenacity to wear down opponents. She said it made a difference in her victory over Pierce yesterday. “I knew I was feeling the ball well. I was moving well. That was definitely something I was missing in my last three Grand Slams,” said Clijsters. In the aftermath of her victory, Clijsters stuck to her statement that she planned to retire after two more years. “Two years is still long,” she said, adding that for those two years, she would give the game her all. “My attitude has always been that way,” she said. “No matter where I play, I am going to work hard and play my best. I do that every week. It will not change after this.” — AFP |
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Federer meets Agassi in final
New York, September 11 Federer again looked below his best, but was still good enough to score a ninth straight win over Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), 4-6, 6-3. The oldest man in the tournament, Agassi belied his 35 years to win a five-setter against compatriot Robby
Ginepri, 13 years his junior, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The two had met 10 times since 1998 and Federer led 7-3, winning the last seven in a
row. Agassi blew hot and cold through four sets, but just as he had done against James Blake in the last eight, he surged again in the fifth, drawing energy and inspiration from his fans in a capacity crowd inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium
showcourt. Agassi forced the issue in the sixth game of the decider, breaking Ginepri’s serve with an audacious drop shot to lead 4-2 and then serving out comfortably to reach the final with an ace on match point. “I am in the final. It is awesome,” he said. “We are into the home stretch. I will be here tomorrow and let it all hang out.” “With the momentum Robby had going into the fifth set, it could have been the last set I would ever play at the US Open. I just had to give it all I had.” Playing in his 20th straight US Open, Agassi was seeking a third US Open title after 1994 and 1999. Hewitt came up short once again against Federer, but he won a set off him for the first time in six matches and had him shaking his head in frustration more than once. But the 24-year-old champion, who also had to save five set points in the second set, rearmed in the fourth and pounded Hewitt into submission with a sustained burst of brilliant shotmaking after the scores were tied at 2-2. Federer was bidding to become the first man to defend the title since Patrick Rafter in 1998 and the first in the Open era to win Wimbledon and the US Open in successive years. “He played a good match. It was close and could have gone either way in the second and third. I am happy I came through on top,” Federer said. “I had to go through some tougher moments, saving set points, and mentally it is not so easy. Physically it was not a problem.” “I think he was much closer than in the last few matches. That should give him confidence.” It was Federer’s 70th match win against three losses this year and his 34th straight win on hardcourts since losing to Marat Safin in the semifinals of the Australian Open in January. — AFP
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Flintoff rips through Australia
London, September 11 Australia were all out for 367 before tea. England lost Andrew Strauss with just two runs on the board in the second innings. In a match where England, 2-1 up in the series, only had to avoid defeat to win their first Ashes series in 18 years, Flintoff took three wickets for 13 runs in 46 balls, including that of Matthew Hayden after the opener made 138. Australia went to lunch at 356 for six, a deficit of 17, in reply to England’s first innings 373, with Matthew Hoggard dismissing dangerman Adam Gilchrist lbw for 23, with what turned out to be the last ball of the session. In normal circumstances, the batsmen would have gone off for bad light, so gloomy were the conditions, and the umpires did make an offer to Australia earlier in the day. However, with just tomorrow’s final day to come, Australia, in a match they had to win to square the series at 2-2 and retain the Ashes, could not afford any extra time sat in the pavilion after going off for bad light after tea on Friday and seeing most of yesterday’s play washed out. Australia resumed today on 277 for two, 96 behind, with Hayden 110 not out and Damien Martyn nine not out. But the struggling Martyn, added just one to his overnight score before he was tucked up by allrounder Flintoff’s seventh delivery today. Late on a pull, he lobbed a catch to Paul Collingwood, running in from square leg. Australia were then 281 for three in gloomy conditions and six runs later, England should have dismissed Clarke when Flintoff at second slip, despite getting two hands to the ball, failed to hold an edged drive off Hoggard. Hayden responded by driving the next two balls from the Yorkshire swing specialist for four. England struggled to see the ball on several occasions and the umpires did have the option of going off for bad light if they felt the fielders’ safety was endangered. But more than an hour after Martyn’s exit, England captured the prized wicket of Hayden, whose near seven-hour vigil ended when Flintoff’s
late inswinger had the Queenslander lbw. Hayden faced 303 deliveries, just over 50 overs, and struck 18 fours for what was his first Test century since he scored back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka in Cairns in July last year. Flintoff had troubled Australia’s left-handers throughout his first Ashes series and removed another when he had Simon Katich, also lbw, for one. Scoreboard England (1st innings)
373 Australia (1st innings) Langer b Harmison 105 Hayden lbw b Flintoff 138 Ponting c Strauss
b Flintoff 35 Martyn c Collingwood b Flintoff 10 Clarke lbw b Hoggard 25 Katich lbw b Flintoff 1 Gilchrist lbw b Hoggard 23 Warne c Vaughan b Flintoff 0 Lee c Giles b Hoggard 6 McGrath c Strauss b Hoggard 0 Tait not out 1 Extras:
(b-4, lb-8, w-2, nb-9) 23 Total: (all out, 107.1 overs) 367 Fall of wickets:
1-185, 2-264, 3-281, 4-323, 5-329, 6-356, 7-359, 8-363, 9-363. Bowling:
Harmison 22-2-87-1, Hoggard 24.1-2-97-4, Flintoff 34-10-78-5, Giles 23-1-76-0, Collingwood 4-0-17-0. England (2nd
innings) Trescothick not out 14 Strauss c Katich b Warne 1 Vaughan not out 19 Total: (1 wkt, 13.2 overs) 34 Fall of wicket:
1-2. Bowling: McGrath 5-0-13-0, Lee 1-1-0-0, Warne 5.2-0-15-1, Clarke 2-0-6-0. |
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Rahul Dravid confident of clinching Test series
Bulawayo, September 11 “If we play good cricket, we should win,” Dravid said in the run-up to the first Test, beginning here on Tuesday. “We have got to play good cricket, focus on ourselves and not worry about the opposition.” “It is very important from our point of view to win the Tests against Zimbabwe and win those well,” he said. Dravid acknowledged the quality of Heath Streak and captain Tatenda Taibu in the opposition ranks, but also admitted that they knew little about the rest of the Zimbabwe team. “Streak and Taibu have been around for a while, they have got some experience. But to be honest, we do not know much about the other cricketers.” Dravid felt that the wickets at Bulawayo and Harare would be similar to the track they played on in Mutare against the Board President’s XI over the weekend. In that respect, he believed that the three-day warm-up game was a good workout for his side. “The track was a good wicket to bat on and was a bit slow. It was a similar kind of wicket we might get in Tests as well,” Dravid said. “It was a good three days from our point of view. Kumble bowled a good spell. For people like Balaji who have not played for a while, it was good to have a go in these conditions. In the end, it was a good workout.” Dravid spoke in defence of Zaheer Khan and Balaji, who struggled for rhythm in Mutare and did not look good with their line or length. “Both Zaheer and Balaji are coming off from a layoff, so it was good for them. Zaheer bowled with good pace and carry. But they have just been here after long flights. This practice will do them a world of good.” The ever-reliable batsman also said he was concerned over the way he was bowled out four times in the tri-series. “It happens. Sometimes you do get out in the same fashion. But it is pretty unusual to get out in the same way. There were different ways of getting bowled, also a couple of inside edges and a couple of misses.” “I am not really concerned about it. I will keep on improving,” said Dravid, who scored a century in the three-day match aginst Zimbabwe Board President’s XI. Dravid was not sure of the final 11 his side would choose in the first Test while conceding that the team needed to work hard on all three aspects of the game. “We will be looking at what kind of combination we will go in with. But we have to keep working hard on all three aspects of our game,” Dravid said. “It is a long season ahead for us. It is the start of what I see as very long between six and eight months. If we take the right steps, hopefully we will see some progress in the course of time.” Dravid said the team wanted to put behind the defeat in the tri-series final against New Zealand and wanted to look ahead and improve with guidance from coach Greg Chappell.
— PTI |
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Zimbabwe drop four players for Test series
Bulawayo, September 11 Batsmen Stuart Carlisle and Craig Wishart, who both have had their contracts revoked after a dispute with Zimbabwe Cricket, were among the four players to be axed when the 13-man squad was announced today. Leg-spinner Graeme Cremer, who took four wickets against India yesterday in a warm-up match in Mutare, but at a cost of 148 runs in 30 overs, was also left out, along with seamer Christopher Mpofu. Allrounder Andy Blignaut, off-spinner Prosper Utseya and four players new to Test cricket — batsmen Terrence Duffin, Charles Coventry and Sean Williams and paceman Waddington Mwayenga — came into the squad. Former captain Heath Streak was named in the squad despite having surgery to remove a blood clot on his shin just over a week ago. Streak would undergo a fitness test tomorrow, with Mpofu or
Anthony Ireland on standby to replace him. — Reuters |
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Anju sets higher goals for next
season
New Delhi, September 11 With very little left to achieve at the Asian level, where she has established herself as the marquee athlete, Anju is now eyeing glory at the biggest stage. “We have the World Indoor Championships in Moscow in March, followed by the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, for which I will have to be at my best,” she said in an exclusive interview here today. “We also have the World Cup in Athens and the World Championships in Stockholm, apart from the Asian Games in Doha, so it is going to be a pretty hectic season,” said Anju, fresh from her silver medal-winning effort at the World Athletics Final in Monaco. She had missed the World Indoor Championships last year and had finished seventh in the 2003 edition, staged in Birmingham. “We cannot afford to prioritise events as all of them contribute towards IAAF world rankings. I am aiming for victory in all of them,” Anju said. The lanky Keralite admitted that competition at the Asian and Commonwealth level was not very stiff and she had very little to prove there. “Only 22 countries participate in the women’s long jump in Asia and only 70-odd in the Commonwealth countries,” she said, adding, “More than 200 countries are in the reckoning at the World Championships and World Cups”. Attributing Anju’s recent good performances to a decent build-up in preparation, her husband and coach Bobby George said they constantly worked on various techniques to increase the distance she could leap. “We are still learning and constantly experimenting with various sprinting techniques to see what can provide the best performance,” Bobby said. Adjusting to various weather conditions at different venues was also a part of the process. Responding to a query about the less impressive performances leading up to the Helsinki World Championships, Bobby attributed it to allergies, knee pain and general wear and tear on Anju’s body. Anju planned to start training in Bangalore after a rest of two or three weeks and then leave for Melbourne in January for acclimatisation before the Commonwealth Games. She was also scheduled to undergo a short training stint in California before the major events would start rolling. “The USA, Australia and Europe have the best facilities and equipment needed for advanced training, which are lacking in India,” she said. “When training in India, I have to fill my car with equipment and even a portable massage table,” Anju said. Analysing Anju’s technique, her coach said she was not blessed with great strength or speed but “makes the best use of her attributes to deliver an outstanding combination.” “At the top level of international competition, there is very little difference between the various jumpers and who performs best on the day wins,” said Anju, who might make it to the top three in the IAAF world rankings after her Monaco performance. Asked when would she be able to breach the magical seven-metre mark, Bobby claimed that his wife regularly jumped close to 6.90m in training in Bangalore and hoped going the extra distance would not take long.
— PTI |
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Raikkonen wins, Narain 11th
Spa-Franchorchamps, September 11 Kimi Raikkonen continued the McLaren domination by winning a race on a track made treacherous by heavy rain and put to test the teams’ tactical acumen and drivers’ racing skills. Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Renault kept his championship hopes alive by coming second while Jenson Button in BAR Honda clinched the final podium. Juan Pablo Montoya dented McLaren’s challenge in the battle for the constructor’s title after a collision with a backmarker with two laps to go and let go a second place finish. Ferraris proved yet again they have the car to more than compete in the wet conditions with Rubens Barrichello coming fourth. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, however, had to endure another nightmare when Takumo Sato in Toyota banged his car from the rear and put a premature end to his race. But the Jordan drivers stole the show, thanks to some brilliant race strategy and sensible driving by Monteiro and Karthikeyan. Monteiro benefitted from a car that was quicker than his team-mate’s but the 28-year old Indian made up for the difference in speed with some daredevil racing. |
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Randhawa finishes tied 14th
Singapore, September 11 On a day when just six players managed par or under, Randhawa grinded out a three-over 74 to finish tied with Australian Terry Pilkadaris. The next best Indian was Ashok Kumar at tied 28th. Arjun Singh (81), the best Indian for the first three days, wilted under hot and humid conditions to drop from tied 11th after the third round to tied 41st. Adam Scott, world number 7, who finished his third round this morning with three birdies in the last four holes, kept that form going as he carded a 65. He won the tournament at 13-under 265, a yawning seven shots ahead of Lee Westwood (278). Just five players finished under par over four days, and another two at par, as the high roughs and tough conditions at the Serapong course took their toll. For Scott, aged 25, this was his second title in Asia, and he said he was delighted with his effort.
— PTI |
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First day’s play washed out in Katoch cricket Patiala, September 11 The umpires, Arun Passi, and Des Raj, waited till tea before they made the decision. The hosts suffered a major setback even before a ball was bowled when it was learnt that star batsman Pankaj Dharmani would not be playing the crucial encounter as the State Bank of Patiala employee was slated to play in the Canara Bank Trophy as part of the All India Associate Banks team in Bangalore. Reetinder Sodhi will be leading the team. — OC
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